Joan Pisani Blog

2007-09-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Surrounded by her loving family, Joan passed away peacefully this morning. She was truly an amazing wife, mother, and friend to so many, and although she will be missed incredibly, we are at peace knowing that her spirit will live on.

All friends and family are invited to attend a memorial service to celebrate Joan's life at Sacred Heart Church (13716 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070) on Friday, September 28, 2007 at 11:00 am. A reception will be held immediately following the service at the Saratoga Community Center (19655 Allendale Ave, Saratoga). In lieu of flowers, the family would like contributions to be made to either the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) (2141 Rosecrans Ave, Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245) or to Hospice of the Valley (4850 Union Ave, San Jose, CA 95124-5156).

Update 9/20/07

2007-09-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

There is not too much to update since the last post, but just thought I'd write a quick update to let everyone know how Joan has been doing. She continues to rest and enjoy the company of family, and is starting to sleep more and more each day. Thank you to all for the nice comments, and I will write another update in a few days.

Update 9/16/07

2007-09-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Joan continues to rest comfortably at home. Over the past several days, we have continued to host visitors (mainly Joan's parents and siblings and Ron's sisters), and have been getting Joan out of bed and into the family room almost every day. Although she is very tired and sleeps on and off throughout the day, Joan still enjoys the company and loves listening to the conversations around her. Thank you again for all the cards and flowers that have continued to pour in, and we will provide another update in a few days.

With Love,
The Pisani's

Update 9/8/07

2007-09-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to provide a brief update on the last few days. Since Joan came home from the hospital, she has been enjoying her time resting at home and visiting with family. She has had a really good last couple of days filled with visits with her parents and all five of her brothers and sisters, and has enjoyed being surrounded by so many people that love her. Thank you so much to everyone who has sent cards, flowers, or called just to say hello and see how Joan is doing... the overwhelming love and support is very much appreciated by our entire family. I will provide another update on Joan in a few days...

Love,
The Pisani's

Resting at Home

2007-09-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to provide for everyone a quick update on what has been going on the past few days. Joan came home from the hospital yesterday (Tuesday) and was extremely happy and relieved to be back home after a two week stay at Good Samaritan. Her two sisters, Mary and Kitty, who have both been nurses for 30+ years, have been staying at the house and have been an amazing help to our family. Joan is enjoying being back at home and has been resting comfortably and sleeping very well. During these first few days at home, we are going to try to keep visits to a minimum and for just family, so that Joan can rest and get situated at the house, but we will let people know if that changes.

Love,
The Pisani's

Joan Update 9/1/07

2007-09-01T14:23:00.001-07:00

Although it has been awhile since we have updated this blog, we just wanted to let everyone know what has been going on with Joan over the past few days (for those of you who don't already know). Joan has been in the hospital for over a week, and based on the results of an endoscopy that she had a few days ago, her surgeon decided to attempt surgery on Thursday in order to help solve the digestive problems she had been having. However, shortly into the surgery her surgeon decided that based on the extent that the cancer has spread throughout her body and the damage she saw, that to continue with the surgery would only cause more unnecessary damage to Joan. After speaking with the surgeon and Joan's oncologist, we learned that at this point there is nothing that can be done medically to treat the cancer. Joan and the rest of our family (along with the advice of her surgeon and oncologist) made the very difficult decision to have Joan come home, and with the help of hospice, be comfortable and pain-free. She will be coming home on Tuesday, and although we had all hoped that the circumstances of her homecoming had been better, Joan and the rest of our family is anxious to have her home. As of now, Joan does not want any visitors besides family, but we will keep everyone updated if that changes. From the bottom of our hearts we deeply appreciate all of the cards, well-wishes, and love that everyone has sent to us during this very difficult time, and our entire family knows how truly blessed we have been to be surrounded by such amazing support. Joan and the rest of the Pisani's truly thank you.

With Love,
The Pisani's

Good News!!

2007-04-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

We have some good news about Joan! A few weeks after completing radiation and chemotherapy treatments, Joan received some great news that her scan results came back clean, with no sign of cancer. In the words of her oncologist, as of now she is "cancer free." Although this doesn't mean that Joan is completely out of the woods, as she will be monitored closely and will continue to be tested on a monthly basis, this was wonderful news to Joan and to our family. Pancreatic cancer is known to be the most aggressive during the first 6 months, and since it has been almost 9 months since she was first diagnosed, this is a very good sign. Thank you so much to everyone for your amazing support over the past 9 months, and we will continue to provide updates as they come along!

The City of Saratoga has decided to put together a team for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, being held at Redwood Middle School on June 23 & 24th. "TEAM PISANI" would like to invite any of Joan's friends and family to join in the walk. Anyone who is interested in participating can register with TEAM PISANI on the American Cancer Society - Relay for Life website. We will be sure to provide additional details on the walk as the date gets closer.

Final Chemo

2007-01-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

I know it's been awhile since the blog has been updated, so we just wanted to catch everyone up on what's going on with Joan. She finished her final chemotherapy treatment on 1/19, and is currently enjoying a 3-week break from treatments in order to get healthy before beginning radiation. The week prior to beginning, Joan should be feeling close to 100% and has planned a few get-aways to Napa and Monterey. Joan will be receiving radiation treatments every day (5 days a week) for 6 weeks. Throughout chemotherapy, Joan has been trying to work on days she feels well enough to, but once she begins radiation, she will need to be off work for at least 3 months. During that time, she's going to concentrate on her health. We'll provide updates throughout the radiation treatments.

Thank you,
The Pisani's

Update

2006-11-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

Since the last post, Joan, Ron, and Kelly went down to LA to attend the Pancreatic Cancer Symposium put on by PanCan (www.pancan.org - a fantastic organization dedicated to raising money, finding a cure for pancreatic cancer, and offering support for those dealing with pancreatic cancer and their families). They spent the weekend with survivors and their family members, attended several informational sessions, and left the weekend feeling very enlightened and hopeful. Since the symposium, Joan has received 2 additional chemotherapy treatments, and will be receiving another treatment tomorrow (Monoday). She has been experiencing the normal aches and pains as to be expected, but overall has been doing pretty well. We had a very nice Thanksgiving weekend, and spent a lot of time with family and friends, and we are looking forward to the holiday season.

We just wanted to take the time to acknowledge a couple of special things that have happened over the past month. First, the Saratoga Parade Committee decided to donate the leftover money that had been raised for Saratoga's 50th Anniversary Parade to PanCan in honor of Joan ($2,300!). Also, Mike Struthers, one of Kelly's good friends' brother-in-law, participated in a half marathon, running as part of the Pancreatica Pacesetters team and raised over $2,000 that was donated directly to pancreatic cancer research. He also ran the race with Joan's name on his shirt. We were both touched and honored by both of these amazing displays of support for Joan, and would like to express our deep appreciation.

We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, and we will provide another update soon.

Treatment #4

2006-10-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

Joan received her 4th chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday, and so far it has been going fairly well. She has been feeling under the weather 4-6 days after each treatment, but has still been able to get out of the house to run errands and have lunch, and was able to make a trip up to San Francisco this past weekend. Next Thursday, Joan, Ron, and Kelly will be heading down to LA to attend the Pancreatic Cancer Symposium, which includes 2 days of speakers and breakout sessions, and they are very much looking forward to the weekend. After that, Joan will begin her treatment again, and we will provide an update for everyone.

2nd Treatment

2006-10-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Joan received the second round of chemotheraphy last Friday, and is doing very well. Due to her body's reaction to the first round, the oncologist modified the dose for the second round, and as a result Joan felt a lot better this time around. She will be receiving her third treatment this Friday, then will have about two weeks off to rest and recover, something which she is very much looking forward to. Continue to keep Joan in your thoughts and prayers, and we will be sure to update everyone after her treatment on Friday.

Update

2006-10-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Joan went in to receive her second round of treatment a week and a half ago, but the doctor determined that her blood count was too low and decided to delay treatment. Joan was able to take a small vacation to relax and continue to get stronger, and will receive her second treatment this Friday. We will update everyone on her progress this weekend.

Treatment #1

2006-09-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

Joan received her first chemotherapy treatment on Friday. The actual treatment lasted about 3-4 hours, and although Joan felt OK right afterwards, she felt pretty wiped out on Saturday and Sunday, as was to be expected. She slept and took it very easy for the majority of the weekend, which was probably the best way to allow her body to recuperate from the treatment and get ready for the second round. She will be receiving the second treatment this Friday, and we will be sure to provide another update for everyone on how that goes.

Treatment Starting Friday

2006-09-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Joan will begin her first chemotherapy treatment this Friday with Dr. Cohen. According to the doctor, Joan shouldn't lose her hair and because of all the available medications to treat the possible side effects, she should feel OK a couple days after each treament. Different people react differently to chemotherapy, but we are hopeful that Joan will do well throughout the duration of the treatment. She will be receiving the chemotherapy in 3-week cycles, with once weekly treatments for the first two weeks, followed by a week off to rest and recover. We will keep everyone updated from time to time as Joan progresses through the first couple weeks, and thank you once again for all of your continued love and support.

Improving Every Day

2006-09-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

After a fairly rough first week home after the hospital, Joan has continued to improve and feel stronger and stronger every day. She has been trying to stay as active as possible by walking, and she even felt well enough this past weekend to get out of the house for a couple hours and stop by the Biking Backwards event that she helped plan as part of Saratoga's 50th Anniversary celebration. It was nice for her to see some of her friends and to be outside for awhile, but it definitely wore her out.

We met with oncologist Dr. Cohen last Wednesday, who gave us more information on the type of treatment he would be administering, which would include 2-3 months of just chemotherapy followed by a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. This morning we met with Dr. George Fisher at Stanford, who prescribed pretty much the same treatment regimen and provided us a lot more details regarding what to expect in the coming months. Both oncologists are tremendous doctors, and based on what we've heard from a lot of you, many people have had great experiences with both. Joan is hoping to start chemotherapy next week, and we will be sure to keep everyone updated as her treatment progresses.

Thank you,
The Pisani's

Feeling Better

2006-08-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Joan has been home for 10 days, and finally this weekend has started to feel a lot better. It's been nice to see her walking around the house with little discomfort. This afternoon she actually felt up to sitting in the backyard for awhile, and it was nice for her to be outside, and tonight she's going to eat dinner w/ us at the table for the first time. She says she feels like staying up and watching the Emmy Awards tonight, so that is definitely a good sign. She has his first oncologist appointment with Dr. Cohen on Wednesday, where we will find out more details about her upcoming treatment. She also has a couple other doctor's appointments this week, so she'll be out of the house a few times. Kate and Kelly have been home every Friday to Monday, Joan's mom was here all last week, and Ron's sister Irma will be here this coming week, so we have definitely had a lot of people helping out. Thank you to everyone for your continued support. We will keep you updated as things progress.

Thank You!

2006-08-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

We wanted to thank everyone who participated in the Relay for Life last night. The event was definitely a success with about 130 friends and family showing up to walk in honor of Joan, and our whole family was deeply touched by the wonderful turnout. The tremendous show of support was truly amazing and we want everyone to know just how much it meant to us and to Joan to have so many people standing behind us. One of the first things Joan asked us when we got home was who all was there, and she was surprised and deeply appreciative to learn of everyone who had come. We especially would like to thank Pat Christensen and Yvonne Lampshire, along with everyone else who helped organize the last-minute event. Thank you for your support!

Finally Home!

2006-08-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Great news...Joan was able to come home yesterday after 17 days in the hospital, which we are all happy and excited about. She has enjoyed relaxing over the past day and a half, and although she received tremendous care at the hospital, she was eager to come home. She's continuing to feel better and stronger every day, she's walking more and more, and her appetite is starting to return. We have many family members in town this weekend, and with the transition from the hospital to home, Joan would like to hold off on visitors for the time being, but she looks forward to seeing everyone soon. The love and support we have felt from everyone has truly been overwhelming, and again we would like to thank everyone for making the past few weeks a bit easier.

The response for the Relay for Life has been wonderful, and we are looking forward to seeing some of you tomorrow! Because of the large number of participants who signed up for the event and the limited parking space at Vasona, we have been told that there will be extra parking at the Los Gatos DMV (600 N. Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030), and shuttles will run to Vasona starting at 4:30 pm. Thanks again to the organizers who have helped put together the team on such short notice. This will definitely be a wonderful event, and we know that Joan will truly be touched. See you tomorrow!

Love,
The Pisani's

Relay for Life Update 2

2006-08-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that we have only committed to walking 45 minutes on Saturday, so from 6 pm to about 6:45 pm. There will be other teams that will walk the entire night, but we just wanted to clarify so that no one gets discouraged about participating. Look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Relay for Life Update

2006-08-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

As a follow-up to the post made a couple days ago, the Saratoga Rotary Club and City employees will be walking in the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life on Saturday, August 19 in honor of Joan, and would like to extend the invitation to join to Joan's friends and family. If you would like to attend, please contact either Pat Christensen @ (408) 741-5471 or Yvonne Lampshire @ (408) 395-8717 as soon as possible, so that a final headcount can be determined.

A donation check made payable to American Cancer Society (marked in honor of Joan) may be mailed to Pat Christensen at 16000 Sanborn Rd, Saratoga, CA 95070 prior to the event, or can be brought to the walk on Saturday. We want to stress that all donations are strictly voluntary, and there will also be a $5 fee to park at Vasona.

All who want to attend should arrive by 5:30 for the 6:00 pm walk. A table will be set up for registration that will include a participants book for all to sign, which we will give to Joan, along with a group picture, after the event.

We want to thank everyone once again for all that you have done for us over the past few weeks; the love and support for Joan and for our family has truly been overwhelming. We look forward to seeing some of you on Saturday!

Day 10

2006-08-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

This past week has had some ups and downs, which according to Joan's doctor is to be expected, but overall she has made great progress. Most of her IV's have been disconnected, she has started to eat solid foods, and she walks more and more every day. Although she is looking forward to coming home, Joan is very happy with the wonderful care she has been receiving at the hospital. A constant stream of get well cards continue to arrive, which we bring to Joan every day, along with the daily Blog comments, both of which she thoroughly enjoys reading.

On August 19 at 6:00 pm the Saratoga Rotary Club and City employees are joining together to walk for 45 minutes in the American Cancer Society's annual Relay For Life at Vasona Park, and they are dedicating their participation to Joan. All friends are welcome to join in, so for those interested we will provide some more details in the upcoming days.

Love,
The Pisani's

Day 8

2006-08-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

Joan continues to feel better and stronger every day. She's been getting out of bed and walking a few times a day, and yesterday she even got up and walked for about 15 minutes around the hospital floor. She will finally be allowed to eat solid foods today, which she's very excited about, and since she's progressing so well, she may be able to come home in the near future. Thank you so much for all of your oncologist recommendations...the one that Joan's surgeon referred us to was Dr. Cohen, and based on a lot of your comments, he seems to be great. Joan also has a tentative appointment with Dr. George Fisher at Stanford Medical Center, and we figure it couldn't hurt to talk to both. Please continue to keep Joan in your thoughts and prayers, and thank you again for all of the cards, gifts, and flowers, which have really brightened Joan's hospital room and our house.

Day 6

2006-08-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Joan is continuing to feel a little bit better every day. She has been getting out of bed and walking a few times a day, and each time it gets a little easier for her. According to the doctor, since Joan is doing so well, she may be able to return home in just a few days, which we are very excited about. When I talked to her today, she let me know that a few more boquets of flowers were delivered to her room, and she may need to send a couple home, since she's running out of room! She wanted me to express her deep appreciation for everything that everyone has done and to let everyone know how grateful she feels to have such amazing friends and family. She's looking forward to seeing everyone, and we will definitely keep you updated on when she'll be coming home.

Day 4

2006-08-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, we received some not-so-great news today. The pathology report came back, and was not as favorable as we had hoped. They found that the cancer had spread into the duodenum (which was removed during the surgery) and into the lymph nodes. Although this was not what we were expecting or hoping to hear, we are continuing (as is Joan) to think positively and remain optimistic. The surgeon is going to refer us to an oncologist, who will let us know what the available treatment options are, but we also wanted to know if any of you had any positive experiences or knew of anyone who had a positive experience with a specific oncologist, especially related to pancreatic cancer. We want Joan to receive the best possible treatment, so please let us know. Your continued support and prayers are deeply appreciated, and we will let everyone know when Joan is ready for visitors.

With love,
The Pisani's

Day 2

2006-08-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Today Joan was moved from ICU to a private room in the main hospital wing. According to the nurses, there are only 3 private rooms on each floor, so Joan really lucked out and was excited about her new room. She's continuing to feel a bit better each day, although she's still tired most of the time and sleeps a lot, but she's looking forward to having regular visitors in the near future. Her surgeon, Dr. Lechleitner, has been absolutely wonderful, stopping by and seeing Joan 3-4 times throughout the day (despite her busy surgery schedule), and says that Joan is still doing great considering the extent of the surgery she had just 2 short days ago. Thanks again for all of the overwhelmingly positive words and please continue to pray for Joan's fast and full recovery.

Day 1

2006-08-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

We went to see Joan this morning, and were pleasantly surprised at how well she is doing. When we arrived, she was awake and was very eager to see us, and one of the first things she asked us was who we had heard from (doesn't that sound like Joan?). When we told her about all of the wonderful comments she had received on her blog, she was appreciative and extremely touched and wanted us to let everyone know how thankful she is (and we are) to have such an amazing support network. We spoke to her doctor, who told us that Joan is doing extremely well for the day after the surgery, but they want to keep her in ICU overnight tonight to continue to closely monitor her. She still cannot have visitors until she is transferred to a regular room, but we will keep everyone updated when that happens. Thanks again for all of your positive thoughts and prayers for Joan.

The Surgery

2006-08-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

Joan's surgery was delayed about an hour and a half, so didn't begin until a little after noon and ended around 5:15. The surgeon spoke to us following the surgery and let us know that the biopsies that were taken during the operation showed that it was definitely a pancreatic cancer. Dr. Lechleitner said that Joan did great throughout the procedure, and was extremely confident that they removed all of the mass and enough of the surrounding tissue. Joan will be recovering in ICU over the next couple days, over which time they will run numerous tests to determine the stage of the cancer, whether or not it has spread anywhere else, and what sort of treatment she will receive. The doctor said we won't find out these results until Monday or Tuesday of next week, at which time we will be sure to update everyone. Until then, please keep Joan in your thoughts and prayers.

Day Before Surgery

2006-07-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

As most of you already know, Joan is going in tomorrow morning for a procedure called a Whipple operation. Her surgery begins at 10:30 am and according to the surgeon, will last about 6 hours. After surgery, Joan will stay in ICU for a couple days, and then remain in Good Samaritan Hospital for up to 4 weeks to recover. We were hoping to have the surgery last Friday, but the lead surgeon was unable to clear the rest of the team's schedules, so it was scheduled for Tuesday. The two surgeons performing the operation are Dr. Rita Lechleitner and Dr. Jeffrey Doty. Joan was very happy to be able to come home for the weekend (especially since her birthday was Saturday), get organized for her time away, and just relax. We would like to thank everyone who stopped by the house (or called) and brought food, flowers, gifts, and well wishes. Joan really appreciated it, as well as the rest of our family, and it provided a nice distraction from everything. We will update everyone tomorrow night after the surgery on how Joan's doing, but until then keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Welcome friends and family

2006-07-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Pisani family would like to thank everyone for all of your unwavering support, love, and positive thoughts and prayers. The support and acts of kindness have been tremendous and we truly appreciate all of the phone calls, visitors, cards, food, and everything else that you have done to help in this difficult time.

In order to help keep our friends and family as up to date as possible on Joan's status and progress with her recovery, we have created this blog to help facilitate such communication. Please check back often for updates or to send any messages to Joan and the Pisani family.

Thank you again for your support and love, we look forward to Joan's full and fast recovery and appreciate your help along the way.

The Pisani's